AHL Rochester Americans

Amerks Look For Win No. 2,000 Against Moose

Published on February 16, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rochester Americans News Release


Tonight, the Rochester Americans kickoff their season-long five-game homestand with the first leg of a two-game set against the Manitoba Moose at The Blue Cross Arena. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be the third of four meetings between the North Division rivals this season and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will also be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26.

Amerks Nearing History:

Rochester enters the contest closing in on history just one win shy from capturing its 2,000th win in the 54-year history of the franchise. The Amerks will become just the second team in the American Hockey League and only the eighth team in North American hockey history to collect 2,000 wins. In addition to all the founding original six members of the National Hockey League, the only other AHL team to accomplish the feat is the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears.

Taylor to Hit 1,200 Games, Ties Ehman:

Veteran forward Chris Taylor will skate in his 1,200th professional game Tuesday night against Manitoba. He recently tied Gerry Ehman for the third on the all-time assist list (283) and needs just one more to move ahead into the No. 3 spot behind Bronco Horvath and Jody Gage. Further, the 18-year pro sits just five goals from moving ahead of Ron Garwasiuk for 13th on the all-time goals lists.

Home is Where the Wins Are... Not So Much the Road:

With half of the season already in the books, home ice advantage has been beneficial for the Amerks. After earning their first regulation loss of the season at home, the Amerks are now 18-8-2-0 on home ice. Conversely, 14 of Rochester's 22 losses in regulation thus far this season have been away from the friendly confines of The Blue Cross Arena.

Head-to-Head:

The matchup will be the first in Rochester this season after the two teams spilt a two-game set in Winnipeg back in early December. The Amerks are 1-1-0-0 this season against Manitoba and 18-25-3 all-time against the Vancouver Canucks' affiliate.

Amerks Notes:

Rochester (31-22-2-0, 64 points) enters the game second in the North Division and tied for 10th overall with the Lowell Devils in the American Hockey League standings. The Amerks, who are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10, have scored the second most goals in their division with 171. Rochester is 10th in the AHL with an 18.7 power-play percentage and is 20th with an 80.8 penalty-killing percentage.

Seventh-year pro Jamie Johnson, who has 19 points (7+12) in his last 16 outings, continues to pace Rochester's offense in all offensive categories in goals (21), assists (33) and points (54). He became the first Amerk this season to reach the 20-goal plateau Friday night against the Abbotsford Heat.

Averaging just under a point per game, Johnson is seventh in the AHL in overall point production after collecting 50 points (21+29) in his last 44 appearances. Further, his 21 goals and 33 assists rank him tied for 10th and eighth in each category among the AHL's top scorers, respectively.

Veteran defenseman Clay Wilson, currently on a three-game point streak (2+2), has a team-best 18 assists on the power-play this season, good enough for third in the AHL in that category. Wilson continues to be Rochester's top scoring defenseman with 40 points (10+30) and remains third in scoring among league blueliners.Additionally, Wilson is tied for 14th in the AHL with 30 assists. Amerks tough-guy Jimmy Bonneau is first on the team and 12th in the league with a team-high 143 penalty minutes.

Rookie goaltender Alexander Salak, who has started 12 of the last 16 games for Rochester, boasts a 23-10-0 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and a.918 save percentage in 35 games. His save percentage is currently 13th among league netminders, respectively, while his 23 wins are second best.

Manitoba Notes:

Manitoba (26-23-5-1, 58 points), kicking off a season-high seven-game road trip, comes into the matchup the winners of two in its last three, despite suffering a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies Saturday night at the MTS Centre. Michael Grabner netted the Moose's lone goal in the contest as third-year netminder Cory Schneider turned away 38 saves in the losing effort. With the goal, Grabner has now collected four points (3+1) in the past two games for the Moose.

Fifth-year pro Marco Rosa presently pilots the Moose in all offensive categories in goals (16), assists (20) and points (36) and is just one of two skaters to play in all 55 games thus far this season. Forward Tom Maxwell is first on the team and 11th in the league with 152 penalty minutes. Sergei Shirokov is currently sixth among league rookies with 34 points (16+18) through 52 games.

Schneider has seen the majority of time between the pipes this season for the Moose. The former Boston College goaltender boasts a 22-16-1 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and a.912 save percentage in 39 appearances. Schneider has played in 10 of Manitoba's last 12 games, making 256 saves in that span. The Salem, Massachusetts, native also appeared in two games with the Vancouver Canucks.

After missing the last 10 games while on recall with Vancouver, defenseman Nolan Baumgartner is back in the Moose lineup tonight. The 2010 AHL All-Star was reassigned back to Manitoba on Monday after playing eight games with Canucks and scoring one goal. In 30 games this season with Manitoba, Baumgartner has registered seven points (1+6) and 20 penalty minutes.

Forward Travis Ramsey, the only other Manitoba skater to play in all 55 games, is one game away from his 100th as a Moose, while rookie defenseman Evan Oberg is two games away from his 50th in antlers. Lawrence Nycholat has been hot for the Moose as of late, collecting seven points in his last six games.

Next Game:

The same two teams will meet again on Friday, February 19th to close out the season series between the North Division rivals. Faceoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena and will be broadcast live on SportsRadio 1280 WHTK and FM 107.3, Rochester's Sports Talk. The game will also be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsNet Channel 26. The Amerks will donate $2.00 to the Ronald McDonald Charity off of every full price ticket purchase on Friday night.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2010


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